Wednesday, November 30, 2011

11/30: Bobby V, NBA Rumors, etc.

Greetings all... strapped for time so let's go...

The Red Sox reportedly hire Bobby Valentine... I'll cop to being under-educated on Bobby V's actual on-field managing techniques, but I do think he's kind of a clown who thinks he's smarter than he could possibly be... that said, they wanted someone with experience and he provides that despite never winning a ring anywhere...

The Chris Paul and Dwight Howard rumor mills are churning... reported discussions about Paul to Boston were squelched this morning by a report that Paul would refuse to sign a long-term deal... both have been linked to the Clippers... Howard to the Knicks... Here's what I'll tell you: Don't believe any of it...

Vick and Maclin ruled out for Thursday night... somehow, this only matters for fantasy football since the Eagles are DONE, but it's still reported as lead-story news... hmmm...

NBA sites are opening on Thursday... woohoo!... at any rate, it's not "fully" operational, but agents can talk to teams as of that day, and things will ratchet up...

College Hoops Round-up: Ohio State absolutely pounds Duke... an 85-63 final result and this was over at half with OSU up 19... they mauled them up front led by 21 and 8 from Sullinger, but the Duke guards (aside from Rivers) didn't show up at all with Dawkins and Curry combining for 7 points (and Dawkins totally shut out)... Michigan goes down in a heap in Charlottesville to UVA... 70-58, and this one shocked me... the Cavaliers owned the glass 33-24 and had double the assists... that'll do it... and finally, the ACC/Big 10 challenge is currently 4-2 Big 10... and since the Big 10 is the best basketball league in the country this year (yes, I said it), they should hold serve...

What to watch for...

Wisconsin @ UNC - ESPN 9:30 - This is a riveting game... I love Wisconsin (as usual) with Bo Ryan and Jordan Taylor, but you won't see a bigger contrast in styles than this one... I wish UNC was undefeated coming in, but as it stands, I think they'll be angry and win this one by 8-10 at home...

Notre Dame @ Gonzaga - ESPN2 11:15 - Rare that a major conference team would go to Spokane... rare tip-off time... and I obviously love this... Gonzaga is the better team...

Florida State @ Michigan State - ESPN 7:30 - This may be the best "unranked" matchup you'll see all year.... both of these teams are top-30 for me, and if you like physical ball, this is for you...

Virginia Tech @ Minnesota - ESPN2 9:15 - Interested to see how the Gophers react to losing Mbakwe (their best player) for the season...